by Dean Henegar
“Hey Barnaby! Any trouble out there?” I inquired.
“None at all, Raytak. Those halflings came by earlier on their hunt and killed off anything in the area we were logging in that might have caused a problem. We’re making good time and have more trees cut down than we can haul. I’ll have to leave several loads on the ground for us to gather later. Think you can get us an extra wagon tomorrow?” Barnaby asked.
“I’ll ask the mayor, I guess it depends on how our food supply is looking after today.” I said.
“Food comes before shelter…I agree heartily with that!” Barnaby replied while patting his belly. The wagon meandered down the road, eventually leaving our sight as it reached the forested area. A few hours later the three wagons carrying the food returned. Two of the wagons were full of sacks of grain that the team was able to gather. The third wagon was only half full and didn’t have food, but was carrying tools and household goods that weren’t destroyed by the raiders. By the time they unloaded, it was getting late in the evening. The farm they were working on still had a small field they didn’t get to, but it was too late for them to make a second run today.
I headed over to see if the townhall was started yet and was amazed at the progress they had made. A swarm of townsfolk moved about the building, hammering beams into place or crafting smaller items out of the logs we had gathered. Delling was there overseeing the work and he greeted me as I approached.
“Hello, Raytak! We’re making good progress now that the lumber is here. Barnaby said they should have a second load here this evening and that should be enough to finish off the townhall and get the foundation set for the garrison. Thank you for purchasing those foodstuffs from the trader, Phineas, earlier today. Between what you bought, what we had on hand, and the food gathered from the farms, we now have close to a week’s worth of food on hand. Once we get the townhall completed, the farmers can set up their farms further to the east here on the plateau. They should be safe from raids and can generate enough food to feed us all. Of course, as the town grows they have to be relocated into the valley as I have big plans for this entire plateau to be a great city one day.” Delling sat on a nearby log and indicated for me to take a seat next to him. “What’s your story, Raytak? You have a unique class and that usually means you have unique real-life background to go with it.” I sat on the log next to Delling and began to tell my story. I told him that I was an old combat veteran who was sick in a hospital. I didn’t mention the medpod, as when I began to talk about it the AI flashed a warning that the information was proprietary and couldn’t be disclosed in public (strange since I could tell it before when I spoke with Yendys). I told what I could, and the system suggested I could disclose that the game was used as a kind of physical therapy. I was going to have to discuss this with Clio the next time we met. I finished my story and asked Delling about his story. He was the first other player with a unique class that I had met.
“My story is really nothing special. I’m a college student at a large public university…weird the game wouldn’t let me tell you the name of the school just now for some reason? Anyway, there was a competition in the political science department to see who could design the perfect medieval political system. I was chosen as a finalist with two others and our prize was a slot in the beta test and a free copy of the game at launch. What the school didn’t provide was the VR gear, or the subscription fees. I have a feeling the faculty are playing favorites for the student whose political views I believe they support. It doesn’t hurt that his family is filthy rich and are big donors to the school, either. I chose a political system based on as much freedom as possible, low taxes, and letting people live the way they wish in peace. I think one of the others developed a system that was based on some form of socialism, and the last one proposed that a harsh totalitarian regime was best suited to this world. I suppose we’re not off to the best start yet, but I actually have hope we’ll do well in the long run…if we’re not wiped out by some crazy, griefer guild that is,” Delling said. I thought that he seemed like a good kid, idealistic like people his age should be. This town and the people in it were exactly why I chose to be a soldier so long ago. Fighting for those trying to live a peaceful life, being the guard dog that kept the wolves at bay.
Early in the evening, the logging team returned, as well as the halflings. Yendys and the rangers made a beeline toward me.
“Mr. Raytak, we completed the quest and the bonus quest, see!” Yendys pointed to a small group of four townsfolk that had gone with the adventurers to learn hunting. It looked like all four were successful as they were walking stooped over from the weight of the bags full of fresh meat they had brought.
“Looks like you guys did well,” I said with a smile and looked to see a blinking indicator in my interface. Clicking on the interface it advised the following.
A party has completed the quest: Meat for the masses. You have paid the total reward of 3 gold.
Bonus objective was also completed: Party has been awarded your Simple Leather Bracer of Agility.
Congratulations! You have had one of your quests successfully completed. You have earned 100xp. Experience and other rewards vary based on the difficulty of the quest, the reward offered, and the time required to complete.
Nice, I didn’t expect to earn any experience myself. I could see how giving out quests could help to quickly level up…and to quickly empty your coin purse.
The rest of the evening passed quickly. Everyone had a great meal due to the food we had all gathered. The fresh meat was especially welcome and for the first time since we arrived in the new town, children were laughing and playing. Delling and I met to discuss the next day’s activities and it was agreed on to have the same groups go out as before. The newly minted town hunters would stay close to the road and hunt small and less dangerous game, since they wouldn’t have the protection of the halflings. A wagon was taken from the food gathering team and added to the logging team, as the closest farm held only enough grain for two more wagons full. I rotated squads to keep them from doing the same thing every day, but kept the number of guards the same. Just as we were wrapping up our meeting, Delling looked up in excitement.
“Raytak, come on! I just got a notice that the townhall is finished and ready to be activated.” Delling asked everyone to follow, except for those on guard duty, and we walked over to the now completed building. The building was a large wooden structure with a wrap around deck, complete with several rocking chairs for citizens to relax in. Inside, the building was simple but spacious, with a large open meeting area with a podium and benches, two small offices for the mayor and some other future town official, and a well-insulated basement for storage of supplies and gear.
“Everyone take a look around and then let’s all get together and move as many supplies into the new basement as we can. No point leaving our limited food out exposed to the elements. Let’s all give a big hand to our town builders for the great work they’ve done! Hayden’s Knoll is once again on the map and open for business!” Delling said while pointing out the dozen or so townsfolk who apparently had a skill enabling them to build any basic town building. Delling said more elaborate structures would require plans that cost a large amount of gold. Now that the townhall was complete, he started the workers on the barracks for us, as well as beginning to build some simple homes for the townsfolk. The important thing for me was a barracks so we could start replacing casualties as well as getting the advanced troops and replacements here. After moving the food reserves to the townhall’s surprisingly spacious basement, everyone was tired from the day’s work and slept soundly through the night.
Chapter 29
The work teams left early the next morning to their various destinations. Building of the barracks was proceeding quickly, and Delling said there should be enough lumber on hand to complete it by this evening. He sent out several parties of townsfolk to explore the rest of the plateau we were on, looking for more water sources, and because of t
he terrain, he also hoped to find some areas with mining potential. We had one small stream running across the plateau as our main water source, but a backup was needed in case of drought, or some other catastrophe. I offered a squad of soldiers to go with them, but he declined, stating the area was open and we hadn’t seen any signs of danger up on the plateau.
The halflings said they were heading out to do some quests in the nearby woods they had unlocked yesterday. I also finally remembered to friend all three of them, so we could communicate if anything came up. I suggested they do the same with Mayor Delling in case he was able to unlock more quests in town for them. With that out of the way, I joined my soldiers to finish up the defensive berm we were building to cover the road. Eventually we had planned to build a wood palisade there to create a true barrier, but the lumber was needed for the town buildings more than for defense at this time. There had been no further sightings of the Bloody Blades and I was growing more confident that they had moved on to victimize someone else. I still planned to have a go at them in the future, after all the mayhem they had caused Hayden’s Knoll. While working on the defenses, the original squad from the transition point arrived, reporting nothing out of the ordinary on their way back and that they had mapped the location of farms that still had crops in the fields.
While walking over to check on the progress of the new barracks, I heard shouting and commotion from over by the townhall and arrived just as a nearly out of breath man was telling his story to Mayor Delling.
“Mr. Mayor, Lieutenant Raytak, there in the caves! Huge spiders! A whole slew of them! They grabbed Jimmy and would have got me, too if I was any slower!” the man said in terror.
“Slow down, man! Breathe, then tell us slowly where the caves are, and if Jimmy is still alive,” the mayor stated. I jumped in with my two cents worth as well.
“How big were the spiders and how many of them were there?” I added.
The man looked back to me as he answered.
“Sir, I don’t know how many. We found a cave near the end of the plateau and went inside, since I thought it looked like a good spot for mining. I used to be a miner before my back gave out, you know. We made it about a dozen yards into the cave before it became too dark to see and then three of them spiders the size of a big dog came down from the ceiling. One of the spiders bit Jimmy and started wrapping him up. I ran for it, I’m ashamed to say, but I’m no match for some monster like that, I tell you. I could hear Jimmy calling me as I ran…. help me Lemule…. help me, he shouted.” The man began to panic again, so I tried to reassure him.
“Well, if the spiders were wrapping him up, it could mean Jimmy is still alive. Don’t worry, Lemule. I’ll gather some troops and play exterminator on these beasts. I’ll take what troops I have now and do a little reconnaissance, and if there’s too many, or they’re too tough, I’ll wait for reinforcements, or for the halflings to help. Mayor, can you have the two town guards watch the road for us? They can send word back to us if they spot any trouble. Lemule, can you find me some torches?” I asked, giving everyone something to do. The town guards went to relieve my men at the road as Lemule led us to the cave. I took stock of what we had. The three squads left here in town only totaled eighteen men. By the end of the day, when the others return, I’ll have another twenty-eight, if needed.
Quest Issued: Eliminate the spider threat. Spiders inside a nearby cave have attacked some of the villagers. Take a force into the cave and clear them out.
Reward: 100 experience, improved villager morale.
Accept Y/N?
I hit yes as Lemule guided us to the cave entrance. We arrived at a spot about a quarter mile from the townhall. Nestled alongside the southern mountains were two small tunnel entrances about fifty feet apart, driven into the cliffside. Lemule pointed to the one he went into, and I split the men into two groups. I would lead eight soldiers into the tunnel Lemule entered, and the other ten soldiers would proceed into the unexplored entrance. We lit torches and walked into the dark. The air smelled dusty and stale, with a hint of rotten meat to it. The tunnel had a dirt floor and the roof, which was about seven feet high, was made of rock. The tunnel looked like it was not a natural occurrence, perhaps a small cave was here originally, but someone had worked this into the tunnel we were now walking through. About fifteen feet into the tunnel, spiderwebs started to appear on the ceiling. I had one of the soldiers move his torch to the ceiling, and the webs burned away quickly. We followed this pattern for another several yards, and then the ceiling became too high to hit with our torches. I also noticed a strange rock formation jutting a couple feet into the tunnel. As I looked at it, a notification popped up.
Small copper node. Requires mining skill of level 1 to harvest.
Great, at least there were resources here if we could clear out the spiders. We proceeded farther down the tunnel with torches held high, waiting for the inevitable spider attack. The tunnel soon entered a small cavern that was also covered in webs along the ceiling, as well as portions of the walls. Several web wrapped bundles descended from the ceiling. I shuddered to think that these were some of the previous victims of the spiders. The cavern was about fifty feet wide and 200 feet long, ending at another small tunnel on the far side. To our immediate left, about ten feet away, was another tunnel…which I was betting was the one the other group of soldiers were moving through. Movement caught our eyes as something up high was disturbing the webs, causing the webbed bundles to sway gently. While we were watching the ceiling, one of the men cried out in pain and dropped to the ground. Four large spiders, the size of dogs, charged us, skittering across the ground. The movement in the webs was just a decoy to distract us. One of the spiders had a soldier by the leg and was trying to drag him back into the shadows. The soldier was screaming and trying to pull a butter knife sized fang out of his thigh while simultaneously hacking ineffectively with his short sword. Blood and a yellowish, milky venom were flowing from the wound and the soldier’s struggles slowly ceased as whatever the spider injected into him took effect.
I drew my sword and found myself and another soldier charging the spider holding our injured comrade. The spider sensed our approach and tried to drop its victim as we made it within striking distance. The spider jerked its head back several times, trying unsuccessfully to dislodge its fang from the soldier’s leg. I activated my command presence at the same time I thrust at the spider’s abdomen. My blow scraped along the hard carapace doing little damage. The soldier next to me had better luck. His blow penetrated the carapace with a critical hit as his blade sunk all the way to the hilt. Thick, grey fluid oozed from the wound, the spider shuddering from the injury, it’s efforts to extricate its fang slowing as it bled out. I was able to land my second blow on the spider, stabbing into its face and causing it to lose the last little bit of its health bar.
Your forces have slain a Fangweb Spider Level 2. You have gained 25 experience.
I turned to look back to see how the rest of the squad was faring when a weight landed on my back dropping me to the floor face down. I felt a piercing pain in my right shoulder and a status icon looking like a green droplet appeared below my health bar.
You have been hit by Fangweb Spider. You have taken 22 damage and are poisoned. You will take 5 damage per second for the next 10 seconds.
The surprise of the attack nearly caused me to activate Honor Guard, but looking at my health bar I could see the spider wasn’t really doing much damage and I wanted to save the once per day ability for what I assumed would be the more powerful foes deeper in the mine. The soldier next to me fought hard, landing several rapid blows on the the spider clinging to my back. The spider wrapped its legs around my torso pinning my hands to my side in the most terrifying and creepy embrace I had ever experienced. Once again, the spider bit me, this time on the back of my neck.
You have been hit by Fangweb Spider. You have taken 22 damage and are poisoned. You will take 5 damage per second for the next 10 seconds.
&nbs
p; Your forces have killed Fangweb Spider Level 1. You have gained 10 experience.
Your forces have killed Fangweb Spider Level 2. You have gained 25 experience.
Your forces have killed Fangweb Spider Level 1. You have gained 10 experience.
I could still hear fighting in the cavern, so the kills must have been from the soldiers that had taken the other tunnel. The spider on my back twitched to the side just as the soldier next to me struck.
You have been hit by a blow from Private Grado. You have taken 35 damage.
“Private Grado, kill the spider, not your commander…and kill it quick!” His blade had hit me in the mid back. The pain was becoming intense even with the game limiting it to thirty percent of the real thing. Getting chewed on and stabbed was just never going to be a pleasant experience. I could also now begin to feel the poison in my system. I felt nauseous and light headed. I could tell it was also affecting my strength as my struggles to unwrap the spiders’ legs around me failed again.
You have been hit by Fangweb Spider for 18 damage and are poisoned. You will take 5 damage per second for the next 10 seconds.
Your forces have killed Fangweb Spider level 2. You have gained 25 experience.
Your forces have killed Fangweb Spider level 1. You have gained 10 experience.
The last notification was for Private Grado finally finishing off the spider on my back. He began to peel the legs from around my body, but I instead told him to help the others kill off the spiders first. The order proved unnecessary as the last spider in the cavern was finished off.